Spirit
In folk belief, spirit is the vital principle or animating force within all living things. As far back as 1628 and 1633 respectively, both William Harvey and René Descartes speculated that somewhere within the body, in a special locality, there was a ‘vital spirit’ or 'vital force', which animated the whole bodily frame, such as the engine in a factory moves the machinery in it. Spirit has frequently been conceived of as a supernatural being, or non-physical entity; for example, a demon, ghost, fairy, or angel. In ancient Islamic terminology however, a spirit (rūḥ), applies only to pure spirits, but not to other invisible creatures, such as jinn, demons and angels.Chodkiewicz, M., “Rūḥāniyya”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 18 November 2019 First published online: 2010 Historically, spirit has been used to refer to a "subtle" as opposed to "gross" material substance, as put forth in the notable last paragraph of Sir Isaac Newton's Principia Mathematica. In English Bibles, "the Spirit" (with a capital "S"), specifically denotes the Holy Spirit. The concepts of spirit and soul often overlap, and both are believed to survive bodily death in some religions,OED "spirit 2.a.: The soul of a person, as commended to God, or passing out of the body, in the moment of death." and "spirit" can also have the sense of ghost, i.e. a manifestation of the spirit of a deceased person. Spirit is also often used to refer to the consciousness or personality. Etymology The modern English word "spirit" comes from the Latin , but also "spirit, soul, courage, vigor", ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European . It is distinguished from Latin , "soul" (which nonetheless also derives from an Indo-European root meaning "to breathe", earliest form ).anə-', from *ə2enə1-''. Watkins, Calvert. 2000. The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots, second edition. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin Co., p.4. Also available online. (NB: Watkins uses '''ə1, ə2, ə3 as fully equivalent variants for h1, h2, h3, respectively, for the notation of Proto-Indo-European laryngeal segments.) In Greek, this distinction exists between ( ), "breath, motile air, spirit," and ( ), "soul"François 2009, p.187-197. (even though the latter term, = , is also from an Indo-European root meaning "to breathe": , zero grade devoicing in proto-Greek to *phs-'', resulting in historical-period Greek in , "to breathe", whence , "spirit", "soul").bhes-''2. Watkins, Calvert. 2000. The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots, second edition. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin Co., 2000, p.11. Also available online The word "spirit" came into Middle English via Old French. The distinction between soul and spirit also developed in the Abrahamic religions: Arabic ( ) opposite ( ); Hebrew neshama ( ) or nephesh ( ) (in Hebrew comes from the root or "breath") opposite ( ). (Note, however, that in Semitic just as in Indo-European, this dichotomy has not always been as neat historically as it has come to be taken over a long period of development: Both (root ) and (root ), as well as cognate words in various Semitic languages, including Arabic, also preserve meanings involving miscellaneous air phenomena: "breath", "wind", and even "odour".Koehler, L., Baumgartner, W., Richardson, M. E. J., & Stamm, J. J. (1999). The Hebrew and Aramaic lexicon of the Old Testament (electronic ed.) (711). Leiden; New York: E.J. Brill.Brown, F., Driver, S. R., & Briggs, C. A. (2000). Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (electronic ed.) (659). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems. (N.B. Corresponds closely to printed editions.)Brown, F., Driver, S. R., & Briggs, C. A. (2000). Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (electronic ed.) (924ff.). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems. (N.B. Corresponds closely to printed editions.)) Usage "Spirit" has acquired a number of meanings: * Christian theology can use the term "Spirit" to describe the Holy Spirit. * Christian Science uses "Spirit" as one of seven synonyms for God, as in: "Principle; Mind; Soul; Spirit; Life; Truth; Love" * Latter Day Saint prophet Joseph Smith Jr. taught that the concept of spirit as incorporeal or without substance was incorrect: "There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes."Doctrine and Covenants 131:7 In Mormonism, unlike souls (often regarded as eternal and sometimes believed to pre-exist in the body) a spirit develops and grows as an integral aspect of a living being. * Various forms of animism, such as Japan's Shinto and African traditional religion, focus on invisible beings that represent or connect with plants, animals, or landforms (kami) : translators usually employ the English word "spirit" when trying to express the idea of such entities. * According to C. G. Jung (in a lecture delivered to the literary Society of Augsburg, 20 October 1926, on the theme of “Nature and Spirit”): }} * Psychical research, "In all the publications of the Society for Psychical Research the term ‘spirit’ stands for the personal stream of consciousness whatever else it may ultimately be proved to imply or require" (James H. Hyslop, 1919). Related concepts Similar concepts in other languages include Greek pneuma, Chinese Ling and hun (靈魂) and Sanskrit akasha / atman (see also prana). Some languages use a word for spirit often closely related (if not synonymous) to mind. Examples include the German Geist (related to the English word ghost) or the French l'esprit. English versions of the Bible most commonly translate the Hebrew word ruach (רוח; wind) as "the spirit", whose essence is divine. Alternatively, Hebrew texts commonly use the word nephesh. Kabbalists regard nephesh as one of the five parts of the Jewish soul, where nephesh (animal) refers to the physical being and its animal instincts. Similarly, Scandinavian, Baltic, and Slavic languages, as well as Chinese ([[qi|气 qi]]), use the words for breath to express concepts similar to "the spirit". See also * Shen (Chinese religion) * Brahman * Daemon (classical mythology) * Deva * Dokkaebi * Ekam * Geisteswissenschaft * Great Spirit or Wakan Tanka is a term for the Supreme Being. * Jinn * Philosophy of religion * Pneumatology * Soul dualism * Sprite (folklore) * Spiritualism * Spiritism * Spiritism * Spirit world (Latter Day Saints) * Spirit world (Spiritualism) References Further reading * * External links * * Category:Deities and spirits Category:Ghosts Category:Jinn Category:Religious philosophical concepts Category:Spirituality Category:Vitalism Category:Supernatural legends